IBM Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework

Accelerating Solutions for Smarter Utilities

The IBM Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework

Providing a foundation for solutions across the energy and utility value chain
Market forces are impacting the landscape of utilities around the world, requiring the transformation of business

models. Climate change and the environment have become enduring public policy priorities. Growth in renewable

generation and distributed resources are enabling utility companies to manage more green energy and a more

bidirectional, less predictable network. And at the same time, consumers are demanding a new and direct role in

personal energy management and conservation. Internally, there is increased pressure to keep rates low but increase

operational efficiency and workforce productivity to deliver higher quality, more reliable utilities (electricity, gas,

or water). While the pressure on rates is a constant, the new business models driven from these market forces are

a high priority in the utility industry today.

“The SAFE framework
allowed CenterPoint to
establish new capabilities
while integrating and
maintaining the existing
functionality of its current
IT investments.”
Dr. Steven Pratt
Chief Technologist
CenterPoint Energy

Industry Frameworks—an IBM approach to industry challenges

Whether they manage power, gas, water or all three, utility
IBM’s Industry Frameworks combine the power of award winning
companies around the globe are approaching these market
IBM software with industry-specific assets and best practices
forces with three imperatives. They are transforming their utility
configured to meet an industry’s unique challenges and needs.
networks from rigid, analog systems to dynamic and auto-
IBM Industry Frameworks help clients deploy business solutions
mated energy delivery systems by driving operational excel-
faster while lowering project cost and risk. IBM leads the industry in
lence. To address consumer demands, some utility companies
helping clients implement business solutions that deliver quantifiable
are improving customer satisfaction with near real-time,
business results and support their strategic roadmap to achieve
detailed information about their energy usage. And, to meet or
increased innovation, agility and competitive advantage—one
exceed environmental regulatory requirements while maintain-
business project at a time.
ing a sufficient, cost-effective energy supply, companies are
investing in greener energy sources as well as a more efficient
infrastructure.
The Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework
How does IBM help with these challenges? Through hardware, The Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework
software and service offerings, IBM provides a rich portfolio (SAFE) is an innovative, powerful software platform, uniquely
of solutions to help utility companies adapt business pro- designed to provide network visibility and control, process
cesses for power generation optimization, transmission and automation and business collaboration for solutions across
distribution operations, customer operation transformation the energy and utility value chain.
and corporate support services. Many of these offerings are
connected through a software platform, called the IBM The framework brings the capabilities of IBM software to
Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilties Framework. power smarter utility solutions across all areas of a utility,
Software helps utility companies drive network transformation including plant operations, mobile workforce management,
with standards and flexibility and turn data into actionable asset lifecycle management, smart metering, grid operations
information throughout the company. and customer care. By integrating and optimizing assets,
devices, networks, servers, applications and data across the
enterprise, utility companies can drive business agility and
more ‘intelligent’ networks.

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Each utility company can leverage the technology compo- Asset, Device and Service Monitoring
nents of the Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities To improve outage management and speed time to resolution,
Framework to build unique roadmaps for transformation. utility companies need real-time control and analysis tools that
The framework approach will help increase the reuse of assets can help visualize network, device and infrastructure availabil-
for each successive project, improving ROI and speed ity and performance.
of implementation.
Asset, Device and Service Monitoring provides tools to
The Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework monitor and manage events from all elements of the network
strengthens line-of-business and IT collaboration by support- infrastructure including power devices, communications/data
ing seven software capabilities critical to smarter energy and network, systems and infrastructure. Real time measurement
utility solutions: and analysis of utility network data provides operational dash-
boards for utility LOB applications. Powerful workflow auto-
• Asset, Device and Service Monitoring mates business processes on an agile technology platform
• Asset Lifecycle Management enforcing best practices and knowledge capture from a skilled
• Informed Decision Making workforce. Better, more real-time decisions result in a
• Improve Customer Experience healthier, integrated and responsive infrastructure.
• Business Process Automation
• Regulatory, Risk and Compliance Management
• Security Solutions

Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework

Third-party Access Domain

Utility Business Domain

Regulatory, risk and compliance management

Power Generation Transmission and Distribution Customer Operations Corporate Support Services
Plant Operations Mobile Workforce Management Customer Management Human Resources
Fleet Management Asset Lifecycle Management Customer Care Accounting
Supply Expansion Supply Chain Management Customer System Payroll

Improved Customer Experience Security solutions

Asset Lifecycle Management
Intelligent Utility Network (IUN)
Smart Meter and Beyond, Grid Operations
Security, Communications Network
Plug-In vehicle/Distributed Energy Resources

Informed Decision Making

Business and infrastructure integration layer (Services Oriented Architecture) Business Process Automation

Asset, Device and

Service Monitoring Communications network domain
Device domain

The IBM Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework integrates information and processes across a utility company.

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 Climate change and environmental
issues have become enduring
public policy priorities

Asset Lifecycle Management Projects within this area of the Solutions Architecture for
Asset management is often a manual process full of cost Energy and Utilities Framework help you turn real time data
and complexity. Consider Asset Lifecycle Management into actionable information. With strong analytics and effective
tools to help track, document and make decisions about the business dashboards, you can assess carbon reduction pro-
procurement, deployment, operation, maintenance, and grams to see if they are effective, optimize energy line load
disposal of field assets. profiles or analyze workforce metrics to help create strategic
plans. You can also drive new interactions with customers as
This capability of the framework can help manage every you enable them to monitor personal utility consumption, costs
aspect of the life cycle of an asset or meter (including and power sources. You can target new time-of-use energy
acquisition, compatible unit estimating, work management, packages to encourage users to save electricity during
inventory control, location, configuration, preventive mainte- peak periods.
nance, safety and disposal) reducing the cost and complexity
associated with redundant asset management infrastructure Improved Customer Experience
and manual processes. It helps improve the availability and Environmental and economic issues are leading many con-
longevity of strategic assets by managing the content sumers today to look for ways to be actively engaged in the
needed to operate and maintain them. understanding and management of their personal utility use.
Utility companies can now deliver a convenient, personalized
Informed Decision Making customer experience by combining self-service capabilities
As the rate and pace of change to utility systems and with interactive communications, enabling consumers to have
technology increases, companies that can analyze events, more control of their utility management and helping Customer
develop insights and correlate reactions to change in a timely Service Representatives to better serve customers.
fashion will benefit from improved business flexibility and
performance. Solutions built around this framework capability can improve
outage management and supply/demand through two-way
communication with customers. Utility companies can deliver
new tools that provide consumers with more information about,
and control of, their sources and uses of utilities.

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 Regulatory, Risk and Compliance Management
Every utility must address changing regulatory requirements,
IBM Business Partner ecosystem enriches the framework
managing large quantities of utility documents and processes
IBM Business Partners augment the Solution Architecture for Energy
to comply with government-mandated regulations. Utilities
and Utilities Framework when they enable their solutions on one of the
must also manage regulatory interactions, including rate
seven framework software capabilities. Through a unique and compre-
case management and federal audits.
hensive validation process, IBM works with business partners to
ensure their solutions are enabled on IBM software and industry
To meet increased regulatory oversight, new regulations and
standards (like the IEC Common Information Model) to facilitate
enforcement initiatives, the Solution Architecture for Energy and
simple integration and deployment of partner solutions.
Utilities Framework enables a flexible approach that helps you
make smart, cost-effective decisions. While each mandate has
IBM Business Partner applications enhance the framework and
its own specific requirements, all have a common denominator:
provide several key advantages. They can reduce the need for internal
the need for greater visibility and control of content and pro-
integration testing by providing pre-certified compatibility between
cesses to lower risk. This capability helps you effectively man-
solutions. Utility companies are better able to accommodate new
age regulatory interaction including rate case management and
requirements and components, further streamlining operations. These
federal audits, while providing security-rich content, data prove-
validated solutions drive innovation by deploying new applications
nance and change control for regulatory compliance.
faster and integrating them more easily.

Security Solutions
As security standards for the Smart Grid are refined, the grid’s
Business Process Automation control networks will take advantage of technology already
Utility transformation calls for companies to create new used in IT networks from other dynamic industries. One of the
approaches, integrate existing applications and optimize biggest advantages of this transformation is the ability to use
business processes to drive pro-active network management, TCP/IP technologies for remote monitoring of energy devices,
increased customer satisfaction, and improved business as well as managing grid assets and operations. But this
productivity. could also increase the opportunity for some to exploit the
more open protocols of the Smart Grid for cyber-attacks.
Today, process logic and user interfaces are often tightly And the stakes are enormous.
bound together within business applications and changes to
systems are difficult and costly. The Solution Architecture for The good news is that hardened TCP/IP security technologies
Energy and Utilities Framework provides tools and best prac- and software architectural frameworks have evolved to the
tices to help create or redesign, model, simulate, implement point where they can be used to help keep the utility network
and support new core business processes as well as extend secure. The key is implementing an end-to-end security
the investment in legacy CIS applications. By leveraging an architecture within the utility network. Security solutions can
SOA-based infrastructure that is open, scalable, flexible and encompass everything from grid and distribution manage-
based on E&U industry standards, you can better identify and ment, to finance and administration, customer management,
reduce bottlenecks in your business workflow and improve HR and procurement.
the distribution and sharing of data in real time.

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 “It turns out that the real key isn’t
the fact that we’ve got visibility
into the grid, though that was our
initial goal. It’s that we now have
information available on grid
performance that we didn’t have
before. We can do a lot with that
information.”
Peter Vinter
Power grid specialist
DONG Energy

Security solutions within the framework can help to detect For example, you might launch a project to improve your
patterns of traffic and actions that are suspicious, going network visibility and control in order to identify outages and
beyond a ‘perimeter defense’ style of security. Software can restore service faster, improving customer satisfaction. A
also help manage access to business systems and informa- project such as this can help highlight the practical benefits
tion to ensure integrity and compliance as well as assess of a framework approach to your users by reducing complex-
the overall security and compliance status of the business ity and delivering return on investment quickly and can be
infrastructure to defend against potential security threats leveraged by successive smart metering deployments and/or
and business risks customer energy management tools.

Getting started Contact your IBM Representative today to discuss a Business

The Solution Architecture for Energy and Utilities Framework Value Assessment. Before you begin implementation, a
helps you deploy solutions that can be built upon and Business Value Assessment can help identify the value points
extended for years to come and, as a result, extend the among framework projects that deliver quick ROI or time-to-
business value of your systems. value for your company.

As you begin your implementation, you’ll need to refine For more information
your key business needs, along with dependencies or To learn more about the IBM Solution Architecture for Energy
sequencing imperatives. Consider beginning your frame- and Utilities Framework, contact your local IBM representative
work adoption with starter projects. These might be small in or ibm.com/software/industry/energy_utilities/
scope, but deliver immediate business value and help
establish buy-in from the rest of the company.

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